Page 7 of Sunshine
I fold my hands, rubbing the symbol imprinted there with my left thumb as if somewhere, somehow, Reece’s mother would look down and see me, talk to God or whoever’s in charge and influence the judge to favor me.
Lisa, help me out. Our daughter does not need to grow up like I did.
What matters is how completely I’ve shed my club persona—how well I’ve adjusted to life outside the club, on the right side of the law, and how dedicated I am to Reece. Waiting while my hair grew out would have only meant more time lost with my daughter. I’ve lost too much of that as it is.But an ache in my gut reminds me I’m not even sure how well I am adjusting to life outside the club. The only thing I’m sure of is my daughter, and how much I love her.
“Mr. Callen is former RCMP. He’s served the country taking down one of the largest outlaw biker clubs in the country. He’s a hero.”
“Is that true, Mr. Callen? Are you a hero?”
“I did my job, Your Honor. I fought to put the people who’d been flooding our streets with drugs in prison. I shouldn’t be penalized for doing my job.”
Judge Hortense looks to my lawyer. “Has he had an eval and been cleared psychologically?”
My lawyer looks to me and I nod.
“We’ll get you the paperwork if you need it,” he says.
“Good.”
“And where will you be living with the child?”
“I have purchased property, have completed plans and permits for a house, and a contractor in place. My finances are in order, including a financial portfolio dedicated to Reece’s education which I’ve had in place since I found out about her. And I have a job lined up working for a small-town policedepartment because it’s less dangerous than staying with the RCMP.”
I gather a breath. “I’ve got my sh… self together, Madam Justice. And while I’m not running out to find Reece a mother, she’ll still have the support of her aunt, uncle and maternal grandparents. Whether or not I have a country club membership and a house big enough to use a different bathroom every day of the damn week shouldn’t matter.”
But as I look at Judge Ellen Hortense, I see what matters most is her impression of me. And right now, in step one, her first impression is bad. Somehow I’ve fucked that up.
She glances down once again at the paperwork. “The East Coast?” Her eyes land on mine so I nod. “Far away from Reece’s current support system, yes?”
Fuck. There’s a reason for that too, but one I don’t want to bring up. My mind’s eye flashes back to the trial of Jared Glenn, AKA, Slash, a brutal member of the Ransom, who liked to play with butterfly knives. I hated the bastard. But it was his nephew I pictured in my head as I thought back. He’d stood on the courthouse steps trying to intimidate me, telling me I was a dead man. He wasn’t a real threat because he was just a kid, maybe thirteen, but he reminded me there were always going to be guys out there loyal to Satan’s Ransom, who were dangerous. And the farther away from River’s Bend and Toronto I was, the better.
“That’s true,for now,but they’re planning on moving near us. Until then, they’ll visit, we’ll visit. It may be far away from Reece’s aunt and uncle temporarily, but it’s also far away from…” I rub my neck. “The big city. And it’s an island, an idyllic place for a kid to grow up.”
One of the Judge’s brows shoots up and she eyes me with a severe scrutiny that causes more sweat to trickle down my neck. God, I feel like a menopausal woman with Horse-Face eyeing me.
She steeples her hands. “You’re overseeing the house?”
“Yes, I’m overseeing its completion until I start my job in a few months.”
“That’s a lot of responsibility for a single parent.” She mumbles these words as she scans her paperwork then looks up deadpanning me. “So, you won’t be available should Reece need you in the meantime?” Her disapproving look weighs heavy with judgement.
“She has my cell, and I can be on a plane the same day should the need arise. Otherwise, I’ll be home in River’s End every weekend until we move. Of course, if you want to forgo all of this, she can be by my side now and I’ll be available twenty-four-seven.”
She gives me another assessing stare, her eyes narrowing a fraction. I swallow, wishing I had a bottle of water, hell, something stronger would be nice, but since leaving The Ransom I hadn’t had a drop of alcohol. Drinking was part of the role of Python Keller, enforcer for the Satan’s Ransom biker club. But Case Callen, the real me, was nothing more than a social drinker and since I’d left the Ransom, I didn’t even do that. Admittedly, I often craved it though, or the effects of it anyway. My mind told me one sip would kill the angst inside me that said I deserved to be behind bars with my MC brothers. Telling me I was no better than them. Reminding me of the things I’d done.
My brain hitches on this idea. Because, right now, I truly want a drink, something to calm me, to ease the tension of the situation and that wasn’t something I’d ever had to worry about before I went undercover. Were my parents right to question my fitness as a father? Had I changed? Not for the first time I wonder if I remember how to simply be Case, or if Case even existed at all anymore. Was I some mashed version of Pythonand Case or was I someone completely different now? And how was this going to affect my ability to be a father to my daughter?
The judge clears her throat, and I look up, realizing I’ve drifted off on a tangent of thoughts again.
“So, once you move, Reece will be unable to have a relationship with her paternal grandparents? Is that correct?”
“My parents have the means to travel.” I try to keep the bitterness out of my voice before continuing. “Their own plane, in fact.”
Her eyes bore into me. I stare back holding my spine straight.
“Your parents have excellent legal representation, so this might get messy, Mr. Callen. Are you prepared for that?”
“I am. I’d do anything for Reece. Being raked over the coals by my parents—worth it.”
